Scottie Thompson is the Finals MVP. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Ginebra coach Tim Cone has very little doubt about where history will place Scottie Thompson when the gutsy guard’s career is over.
“He might go down as one of the all-time greats,” said Cone, whose 21 PBA titles certainly qualify him to make such a call. “The stuff he does in games, he does in practice all the time. He’s a really special kid.”
But no one is trying to figure out where Thompson will end up in basketball’s endless narrative. There’s too much road to travel before we get there—and the former Perpetual star still has a lot to achieve.
“He’s just scratching the surface,” Cone said.
He’s got one notch under his belt now, winning the Finals MVP after Ginebra’s conquest of San Miguel Beer in the Commissioner’s Cup. Under the glare of the spotlight and surrounded by the love and cheers of Ginebra’s faithful, Thompson chose the path of magnanimity.
“I don’t know if I deserve the Finals MVP because that wasn’t my focus,” the Davao native said in Filipino. “But we, as a team, deserve the championship.”
The 25-year-old Thompson averaged 10.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists in six games in the Finals. He came up biggest when Ginebra needed him the most, sealing Game 5 with clutch baskets in the stretch—20 points, 11 rebounds in an 87-83 triumph—and then providing Justin Brownlee with much needed additional firepower—12 points, 13 rebounds, five assists—in the 93-77 Game 6 victory.
And the love showered by the fans was fitting. Thompson, after all, did everything he could for his team with the Ginebra fans in mind.
“In the last two games, the fans were my motivation,” Thompson said. “They’re the ones who came from far places just to watch us play. Some of them would even borrow money so they could buy tickets. That’s why I wanted to play for them.”
“My game really stepped up because the fans were my inspiration.”